Survivor

Update – Development Progress (Feb–Mar) - Patch 7

Gameplay & Systems

• ✔️ Weapon system improvements

  • adjustments to branching for different weapon types

  • preparation for shotgun support, including pickup

  • improvements to ammo / magazine / reserve ammo handling

• ✔️ Damage system

  • implementation of Apply Damage

  • adjustment of enemy reaction after being hit (knockback / recoil)

• ✔️ Headshot / hit detection improvements

  • collision and skeletal mesh hit detection adjustments

AI & Combat

• ✔️ Initial AI behavior improvements

  • reaction to being hit

(AI is still basic for now – further improvements are planned.)

UI / HUD

• ✔️ HUD fix after loading a saved game

• ✔️ Ammo values fixed in HUD

• ✔️ HUD logic for New Game vs Continue

• ✔️ HUD support for weapon system and all items

Save / Load System

• ✔️ Saving player transform / checkpoint position

• ✔️ Fixed spawn position after loading

Visual Effects & Interaction

• ✔️ Bullet hole decals (visible surface impacts)

• ✔️ Outline / highlight effect for pickup items

• ✔️ Material adjustments and damage effects on objects

Graphics

• ✔️ DLSS support added

• ✔️ Testing the UE 5.4 rendering pipeline

• ✔️ Experiments with HDRI lighting

Assets & Environment

• ✔️ Added new game assets

• ✔️ Improvements and adjustments to existing game assets

Patch 6

• Fixed enemy shooting continuing after player death
• Improved enemy behavior after player respawn
• Defeated enemies now stay defeated after reload
• General AI and combat stability improvements

Patch Notes (Work in Progress)

Patch 1

1. Initial playable build released
2. Core shooting system already implemented (hitscan)
3. Basic character movement and interaction systems
4. Initial dynamic lighting setup
5. First optimization pass for open-world environment

Patch 2

1. Lighting fixes and visibility improvements
2. Performance optimizations (LOD tuning, foliage and shadow adjustments)
3. Expanded graphics and performance settings
4. UI fixes and Blueprint cleanup
5. Improved stability across different hardware configurations

Patch 3

1. Save system improvements and stability fixes
2. More reliable saving and loading of player state
3. Bug fixes related to respawn and state restoration
4. Additional performance optimizations
5. General stability improvements

Patch 4

1. Further lighting balance and color adjustments
2. Visual consistency improvements across environments
3. Additional performance optimizations for lower-end hardware
4. Minor gameplay and flow fixes
5. Overall polish and reliability improvements

Patch 5

1. Improved visual design of bullet impacts
   • Different effects for concrete, dirt and characters
2. Surface-based detection reused from footstep system
3. More accurate impact placement using Hit Result data
4. Clearer visual feedback during combat
5. Minor shooting feedback polish (visual only)

ℹ️ Notes

• Project is under active development
• Systems are iteratively improved and refined
• Visuals, performance and gameplay balance are still evolving